Method of forming variegated surface coverings



p 28, 1954 J c. MCCARTHY 2,689,981

METHOD OF FORMING IQRIEGATED SURFACE COVERINGS Filed Nov. 15, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l P 28, 1954 J c. MCCARTHY METHOD OF FORMING VARIEGATEID SURFACE COVERINGS Filed NOV. 15, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J CLARENCE McCARTHY ofithe'ish'eet.

zierediin'to :isecti'ons :which iarersfed in overlapping ucrosserolling relationship ;to 2 a I second calender which consolidates the sheets into 'aisingle" thick-r nessa-andjforms axsheetzhaving'ia marbleized aappearance. .This :requires the 'hand :ieeding Patented Sept. 28, 1954 METHOD OF FORMING "VARIEGATED SURFACE COVERINGS J. "Clarence McCarthy, Manheim Township, Lan- -.caster County, l.a., assignor to Armstrong Cor k *t'flompanmukancaster, Pa a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 15, 19.49,1Serial No. 127,386

4 1 Claims.

'-'This invention relates to==a method of forming variegated surfacecoverings and is concerned 'parti'cularly withthe formation oLproducts of linoleum or the like having a marbleized graining.

fln themanufacture of linoleum, rubber -tile,

asphalt tilegandother plastic surfacecoverings,

itiiscommon -to variegate the composition and form'it into '"sheets or tiles having a veined or grained :appearance in simulation 1 of marble. or "the-like. such graining is commonly .obtained in 'linoleumi'-by mixing granules ofbase :ancl 'variegating colorcompositions and feeding these a as a'rmassintoia'calender. This forms a sheet ihaving: a veined appearance in which the grain- .ing: is. disposed: generally: parallel to the length vThe sheets thus formed are: sev- :.of .athe :overlapped; sheets to .the i cross-trolling ucalender, land :theresisesome tendency to form iobjectionable :graining izdisfiguration where :ad-

ssjacent- Isheets overlap as ltheyrpass throughthe rea-lender.

a'An; Qbjfict'fbf tthe :spresent invention 1 is vto. pro- -.vide arqsimplifiedymethod .'.of rmaking "variegated 1 surface; coverings zzhaving..-a,=:grainedaz appearance which may rbe. accomplished "fully automatically. Another object :of the invention :is. atoa; provide a method which will produce axtnovel J -type :of ,igraining .vvithout --.objectionable glines f .;:de-

marcation such as areencountered;inithezcon- --.ventional:marbleizing. processes-nowin userwhere .-roverlapped:::sheets are; cross-rolled.

Bother objects of .thexinventionwwillrbecome.ap-

..parent from?a,--.ccnsideration .oi the. iollowingide- 'tai-ledr description ofcertain preferred embodifl'mentsz of this invention. "These -will :be ide- 1 sci'ibedziniconjunction 'c'withithe attached drawrings in which --tFigure lzis.a perspective .view of arrod .of color compositions;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the rodxof'Figure l-severed into pellets;

lEl' iguresa-3 viswarplan view oia Waferlike; piece formed from onset .the pellets ofn-Figure2; the .left-handportion1 of. Figure 3. showing. one surfacepf the waferlikepieceuand the right-hand .portionishowing the oppositesurface of the piece; Figure 4111s aplan view showing-one-surface zofza :waferlike piece. formed from a: generally 2; spherical pellet of; baseiandvariegatingcolor com- .QJJHQSifiOIlS;

as indicated at '8 in Figure 2.

j'knives may ,be employed.

Figure 5 is a plan viewshowing a plurality of generally spherical pellets ofthe type used in *the formation of the waierlike piece of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is-a diagrammatic View illustrating apparatus useful in the practice of the method;

Figure 7 ista diagrammatic View of a portion of one of the conveyor belts used in the apparatus of Figure 6 for conveying individual pellets;

and

Figure'S is -a plan view illustrating the grain- -ing eiiect obtained by the practice of the invention.

The invention is applicable to various types of surface coverings, including linoleum, rubber compositions, asphalt compositions of the type commonlyemployed in the production of floor and wall coverings, so-called synthetic resin type The inventure ofsurface coverings of linoleumand rubber compositions. The linoleum composition type -will be taken as typical in the descriptionof certain embodiments .of the invention which follows.

A batch: of linoleum-composition of .a, desired base color is prepared in the conventional manner and formed intov a generally free flowing granulated mass. A plurality of batches of linoleum composition ofvariegating colors are prepared, and measured quantities of .the variegat- .;ing color compositions .are discharged into a cmottlerrwiththe base color composition, and the ".baselandvariegating colorcompositions are thor- 1 oughly intermingled. The intermingled mass is 'theniormedinto pellets. This may be accomwplishedby compacting charges of the mass of 1133156 and variegating color compositions into :cylindrical rods such as the .one indicated at ain Figure- 1. It will be observed that the base ;color, composition 3 and the variegating color compositions 1:4, 5, and .6 are generally disposed as individual, visually discernible granules sthroughout the body of the rod 2, although there :mayibe some striation of the granules. at the. outer surface of the ,rodas indicated at i in Figure 1 :caused by relative movement between the mass -iand:;the1,.icrming: surface during the production 30f" the ,rods.

Linoleum composition is coherent when consolidated under pressure, and thus the rod 2 is self-supporting and may be out into'pieces Saws or cutting I Thensizeoi the rodsand the pieces may vary over a considerable range. As. a typical example thezpiecesmay be about 1 in diameter and in axial. length. or thickness.

The individual pellets are compressed into thin, fiat, waferlike pieces as indicated in Figure 3. This is preferably accomplished by passing the pellets individually through a pair of small calendering rolls which are spaced apart a distance approximately equivalent to the thickness desired in the final waferlike pieces. In the typical embodiment chosen for illustration, the pellets 8 may be reduced to about 1 thickness; and, where calendering is employed to form the pieces, they will be about 3 to 3 long by about 2" wide at the line of maximum width and generally elliptical in shape as indicated in Figure 3. One side 9 of the waferlike pieces will have a graining similar to that shown in Figure 3, and the opposite side ID will have a graining which includes a border portion l 1 formed from the outer surface E2 of the pellet 8 and a central portion l3 which will be grained but not to the extent of the upper surface 9.

The thin, fiat, 'waferlike pieces are next consolidated into a sheet. This is preferably accomplished by feeding the pieces as a heterogeneous bank into a pair of calender rolls with some of the pieces disposed with their graining at an angle to the direction of calendering and with the faces 9 and I randomly arranged with respect to the calender rolls. Reference to Figure -8 indicates diagrammatically as accurately as possible the type of graining obtained by the calendering operation upon the heterogeneous bank of pieces. It will be noted that the graining I4 is nondirectional and relatively fine lined.

Figure 6 illustrates diagrammatically apparatus which may be used in the practice of the method of the invention. The pellets I are charged into a plurality of hoppers 16 which are provided with brushes H, the purpose of which is to orient the pellets on conveyors l8 in a desired spaced relationship. This may be facilitated by providing the conveyor l8 with openings l9 as shown in Figure '7 and providing suction boxes 20 below the inclined run of the conveyors as indicated at Figure 6 to hold the individual pellets on the conveyor iii in spaced relationship, one pellet being held above each of the openings I9. The righthand conveyors and hoppers are not shown completely in Figure 6. They may be the same as shown in the left-hand portion of the figure. The

individual pellets are fed into pairs of small calendering rolls 2!, one pair being provided for each conveyor. These rolls 2| are eiTective for reducing the pellets to the thin, waferlike pieces shown in Figure 3. It is desirable to form the pieces individually, and for that reason, it is essential that the delivery of the pieces be spaced in time so that the waferlike, pieces which are formed are separate and distinct and not connected together as would occur if a mass of the pellets were fed to the consolidating rolls.

The pieces 22 thus formed are fed as a heterogeneous bank 23 into the nip between a pair of rolls of a sheeting calender 24. This calender 24 consolidates the pieces into a sheet which may be of any desired width and thickness. In the embodiment chosen for illustration, the sheet formed may be about /8 thick by '72 wide and of indefinite length.

The number of pairs of calender rolls 2| employed will depend upon the rate of production of the calender 2 2. It is possible, of course, to form the Waferlike pieces in advance and feed them to the calender, but the preferred practice is to operate the process continuously by supplying the pellets to the consolidating rolls at a rate which approximates the rate of production of the calender 24. Since the pieces are formed. individually, it is necessary in order to attain a highspeed production on the calender 24 as a continuous process to provide a plurality of calenders 2| or their equivalent for forming the waferlike pieces.

It will be noted by reference to Figure 6 that the pieces are randomly or heterogeneously disposed in the bank 23 and that the bank consists essentially wholly of the waferlike pieces. Some of the pieces are disposed with their graining parallel to the axis of the calender 24 and others are arranged at other angles with respect thereto. Some of the pieces have their faces 9 disposed in one direction and others in an opposite direction. Thus the graining produced has an unusual character and is pleasing in its absence of a definite repeat.

Instead of forming the pellets in the manner described in connection with Figures 1, 2, and 3, waferlike pieces 25, as shown in Figure 4, may be prepared by consolidating the base and variegating color compositions in granular form into pellets 26, as shown in Figure 5, which are generally spherical. These pellets may be formed on a conventional pilling machine and may be in the order of 1" in diameter and about 1 long. When these pills are individually consolidated, they produce an irregularly shaped, Waferlike piece having a surface graining which is generally the same as shown in Figure 3, although there will be no outer border similar to the portion I I, for the granules will not be substantially striated at the surface of the pellets. The pellets may be formed into the waferlike sheets by consolidating rolls similar to the rolls 2| and the pieces thus formed fed as a heterogeneous bank to a calender.

Where linoleum in sheet form is produced, common practice is to form the sheet directly upon a suitable backing such as burlap or a waterproofed felt. Where tile pieces are prepared, the backing may be removed subsequent to curing of the composition. In rubber tile manufacture the sheets produced on the calender 2 will be vulcanized, generally without a backing and subsequently cut into pieces of the desired size and shape. The process does not diifer in any essential regard with either practice. If a backing is employed, it will generally be fed over one of the calender rolls, and the material will be consolidated upon the backing at the nip be tween the calender rolls.

The process of this invention may be practiced continuously with a minimum of labor, and the problem of objectionable distortion of the graining is obviated. The process produces an attractive graining which simulates marble and may be varied to a substantial extent by alterations in the size of the granules used, the size and shape of the pellets, the thickness of the waferlike pieces, the degree of consolidation in final sheet formation, and the like.

I claim:

1. In a method of forming a variegated surface covering, the steps comprising forming coherent pellets made up of a mixture of individual, visually discernible granules of base and varie gating color compositions with the color compositions intermingled throughout the pellets, feeding the pellets individually into consolidating rolls where they are formed into separate and individual, thin, fiat, waferlike pieces with a grained appearance extending generally along the direction of rolling of the pieces, feeding a mass consisting substantially wholly of the waferlike pieces as a heterogeneous bank into a calender with some of said waferlike pieces having their flat faces disposed parallel to the axis of the calender, others at right angles thereto, and still others disposed at other angles with respect to said axis, and consolidating them into a variegated sheet.

2. In a method of forming a variegated surface covering, the steps comprising forming coherent pellets made up of a mixture of individual, visually discernible granules of base and variegating color compositions with the color compositions intermingled throughout the pellets, feeding the pellets individually into consolidating rolls where they are formed into separate and individual, thin, fiat, waferlike pieces with a grained appearance extending generally along the direction of rolling of the pieces, feeding a mass consisting substantially wholly of the waferlike pieces as a heterogeneous bank into a calender with some of said waferlike pieces having their flat faces disposed parallel to the axis of the calender, others at right angles thereto, and still others disposed at other angles with respect to said axis and with some of the pieces disposed with their graining at different angles to the direction of calendering, and consolidating the pieces into a variegated sheet.

3. In a method of forming a variegated surface covering, the steps comprising forming a mixture of individual, visually discernible granules of base and variegating color compositions into coherent rounded pellets with the color compositions intermingled throughout the pellets, calendering the pellets individually into separate and individual, thin, flat, waferlike pieces having a grained appearance extending generally along the direction of the calendering of the pieces,

feeding a mass consisting substantially wholly of the waferlike pieces so formed as a heterogeneous bank into a calender with some of said Waferlike pieces having their flat faces disposed parallel to the axis of the calender, others at right angles thereto, and still others disposed at other angles with respect to said axis and with some of the pieces disposed with their graining at an angle to the direction of initial calendering, and consolidating the pieces into a variegated sheet.

4. In a method of forming a variegated surface covering, the steps comprising intermingling individual, visually discernible granules of base and variegating color compositions to form a mass in which the color compositions are intermingled together, forming compressed and coherent pellets of the intermingled granules, calendering the pellets individually into separate and individual, thin, fiat, Waferlike pieces with a grained appearance extending generally along the direction of the calendering of the pieces, feeding a mass consisting substantially wholly of the waferlike pieces as a heterogeneous bank into a calender with some of said waferlike pieces having their flat faces disposed parallel to the axis of the calender, others at right angles thereto, and still others disposed at other angles with respect to said axis, and consolidating the same into a variegated sheet having a nondirectional graining.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 235,799 Naylor Dec. 21, 1880 1,001,836 Fritz Aug. 29, 1911 1,763,314 McConoughey June 10, 1930 1,975,515 Mayer Oct. 2, 1934 1,994,164 Bailey Mar. 12, 1935 2,083,201 Poppe June 8, 1937 

